A slow starter, but I'm glad I stuck with this fun story about the early days of MIT, pioneering students and a mystery man attacking Boston. It really got going and nearer the end was full of twists and turns. ( )

Matthew Pearl's The Technologists is the fictional story of several students of the inaugural class of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as they race to stop a mad man from destroying Boston. The novel opens with the events of a mysterious harbor disaster as boat crew mates and sailors find their compasses going haywire. Shortly after, another unexplainable catastrophe occurs; all the glass within the financial district of Boston inexplicably melts, disfiguring many and killing a young actress. The police are at a loss of just what is happening. Enter the “Technologists”--Marcus Mansfield, Robert (Bob) Richards, Edwin Hoyt, members of the inaugural class of MIT who take it upon themselves to discover what is causing these acts of terror—hopefully saving their city and their beloved MIT. Pearl introduces the reader to the public’s feeling about science and the Industrial Age, the education of women, the aftermath of the Civil War and rivalry between Harvard and MIT. I have enjoyed Pearl’s previous novels that have included historical figures into the narrative (Longfellow, Poe, Dickens) and looked forward to reading his newest. However, I came away disappointed. Despite being classified as a thriller, I found this novel to be slow and plodding, and almost had to force myself to finish. 1 out of 5 stars. ( )

In the spring of 1868, a chain of disasters harnessing the power of new technologies terrify the citizens of Boston. Marcus Mansfield and several classmates from the first senior class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) join forces to investigate the mysterious events, identify the mastermind behind them, and stop him from destroying the city and their fledgling school.

This historical mystery has a strong sense of place in Boston, Cambridge, and on the grounds of the fledgling MIT. It captures tensions between science and religion, labor and management, tradition and innovation, and addresses issues of social class, gender roles, and post-traumatic effects of the Civil War. With its emphasis on technology, it could have cross-over appeal for some steampunk fans. I have enjoyed this author's books set in 19th century Boston much more than The Poe Shadow, set in Baltimore and France. Recommended for most historical mystery readers. ( )

Its proud lines intermittently visible through the early morning fog, the Light of the East might have been the most carefree ship that ever floated into Boston.

Quotations

Technology is the dignity that man can achieve by bettering himself and his society.

Last words

You have not been treated here today to anything in the nature of oratorical display; no decorations, no flowers, no music, but you have seen in what careful and painstaking manner these young men and women have been prepared for their future occupations in life.

Wikipedia in English

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Book description

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club, comes a completely fresh take on the historical thriller, set at the intersection of science and history, as the men and women of the first graduating class of MIT must avert a dire threat against their city.

Boston, 1868: On a fog-shrouded, moonless spring night in Boston Harbor, seven ships—schooners, pleasure steamers, and steamships—mysteriously crash in a massive, fiery wreck. The devastation is later complicated by the discovery that every compass recovered from the wreckage had spun wildly as the ships veered inexplicably off course. In an attempt to solve the mystery, investigators visit the newly founded Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose fifteen-member inaugural class is about to graduate. As the harbor disaster is followed by further strange calamities striking the city, Marcus Mansfield and his fellow classmates including Ellen Swallow, the sole female student at MIT—will find themselves in the position of being the only people qualified to save the city and its inhabitants from what seems to be the work of a madman.

Haiku summary

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The first graduating class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is thrown into turmoil by bizarre phenomena that cause instruments to inexplicably spin out of control, challenging enterprising students to protect lives while combating Harvard rivals.… (more)